


Where the Sea Meets the Sky

by jumping_jax



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: ? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mythical Creatures, American English, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Childhood Friends, Fighting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Griffins, Humor, Multi, Queer Character(s), Seungmin is a bit of a bitch, Violence, i hurt Felix and Changbin im so sorry, merfolk, nothing too graphic though, this is actually based off of another one of my works which i probably won't ever post
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16032776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumping_jax/pseuds/jumping_jax
Summary: "I'm left to rely on a broken compass to swim in an open sea. // We'll return when we drift apart."---------6 years spent apart. They can't even remember each other's faces. But they can still remember the feelings they shared, and that's enough.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i swear it’s not all in first person
> 
> the lyrics from the summary are from 3RACHA's Broken Compass it's such a good song, like all of their others
> 
> bare with me, i'm not used to sharing my writing with other people and since i'm american, my grammar and spelling suck. thanks.
> 
>  
> 
> also this is more of like a prologue than anything but it's crucial and i'll work to get the first real chapter up soon thanksss

I fought but the trap only snagged tighter, further immobilizing me. Muffled laughter and talking is all I can make out through the torrent of bubbles I’ve stirred up in my vain attempt to escape.

I can feel myself being dragged through the water, towards the sounds. How could I have been so stupid? I should’ve been more cautious, especially this close to shore. Now I’ll pay for my actions, Poseidon knows how.

The sunlight becomes more intense and I’m pulled to the surface, but not entirely out of the water, which I am grateful for.

“Holy-!” A man’s voice exclaimes, probably at the sight of me. “And here I was thinkin’ it was just a huge fishie, but we got ourselves a mermaid!”

Thumping sounds and movement cause the boat to sway slightly as the rest of the crew moves to get a good look at me. I wish for nothing more than to curl up and hide myself from their prying eyes.

I crack my own eyes to look at them and though the sun is blinding I can make out at least four men, staring at me as if I were a beautiful conch shell. Or perhaps a literal piece of meat; the hunger in their eyes does not come close to rivaling any kind greed I’ve seen before.

I’m hyperventilating now, my nerves getting the better of me as their eyes rake down my body to take in all of my features. I squirm, hoping to loosen the netting digging into my scales and flesh. It does nothing but intrigue the men more and tighten the snare around my body.

“How much d’you think it’ll go for?” One of them asks, practically drooling at the sight my exposed upper body and lean muscles. Last I checked, I am not an object. They must not know that I can understand them.

One of them strokes the beard on his face as he answers, “a couple thousand? I mean, depends on who we’re targeting at this point. It’s not like the fish market will take it... but I bet an aquarium nearby would pay a hefty price for such a _fine_ specimen.”

A shadow of wings glide over the water momentarily before swerving off somewhere else. My siren charms are lacking big time but maybe I can work a bit of magic…

Before I know it, a shrill screeching noise pierces the air and I can barely make out a large pair of wings diving towards me against the bright glare of the sun. I cover my head, trying to submerge myself in the water and perhaps melt away.

Panicked cries from the men aboard are muffled from the thin layer of water covering my body and I dare to look up.

Perched on the edge of the boat is a wolf sized beast with huge, eagle like wings spread out to their full length. I can’t see the front of the creature but it has the hind legs and tail of a lion that twitches and flicks as it screeches at the fishermen. The shiny coat of golden fur slowly melts away into black and grey molted feathers towards the head. I’ve never encountered one but I can immediately tell that this is a griffin.

The griffin beats it powerful wings, rising up from the boat and hovers above my curled up figure. The water below it and above me stirs a great deal from the powerful beating of its wings and the men panicking on deck cannot be heard.

The beast seems satisfied that it’s scared off the crew members back inside the boat somewhere and turns it’s eyes to me. My eyes widen as I get a good look at its front.

A small crest of feathers rests on the crown of its head and its piercing eagle eyes bore into my soul. It has a sturdy beak with very sharp looking edges and a pair of feathered talons replace what would be the front legs of a lion. Five toes, each with long, curved, razor like claws and a rough padding under them.

There’s a snap and I feel myself fall away from the boat. The griffin cut me free. I want to swim as fast and as far away as possible but I’m still trapped in the fishing net. The griffin seems to notice this as well and cocks it’s head, as if it’s trying to think of what to do.

“H-hey! Th-that’s ours!” One of the men shouts at the griffin. It only screeches at him, resuming a possessive position over my form to ward them off. It’s... protecting me…?

I see the talons lunging towards me and I hold my breath. I guess it wasn’t interested in saving me, only keeping me for itself. Griffins were not known to eat merpeople from what I’d read.

An overwhelming amount of fear strikes my being and I begin to shake in the net. I start to thrash again, not sure of anything else I can do.

The talons don’t plunge into me, instead they hook the netting and hoist me up into the air. I’m a fish out of water and can’t help the shaking now.

It’s gonna drop me on the rocks and watch as my bones break and I bleed my life out, I fret while clinging to the net as some type of reassurance that I’m still alive and hopefully will stay alive, though literally all odds are against me.

The angry shouting of the men grows distant and I dare to look down. I’m in the air, high above the sea. High above my home.

“Don’t worry.”

I blink and shake my head. That was funny, could’ve sworn I heard someone say something…

“I said, don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you.”

I twist in the net, ignoring how it bites into my skin, to get a better view of the griffin. It’s looking at me as it soars.

“Y-you speak?” I asked, unable to control the wobble in my voice. We climb higher, into the clouds and I squeak, clinging tightly to the netting. “Oh god, oh god, oh god!”

A squawk-like laugh from the griffin makes my fear disappear for an instant. So it can understand me as well…

“Sorry, I guess you’re not used to heights. Just a bit farther, don’t need those fishermen finding you again, right?”

I still can’t believe that I’m talking to a griffin, a creature that’s extremely rare in these parts of the world where human inhabitants have destroyed most of the forests and taken over the mountains - their main habitat.

I just nod and gulp back a scream as we dip towards the ground. My stomach drops and my knuckles turn white around the net. I have to shut my eyes because the image of the ground rushing towards me is too terrifying for my already shaken state.

The drop eases and I can breathe again. It beats its wings harder to slow the momentum and soon we’re hovering right above a sandy bank. I can feel the muscles in my tail twitching. I need to get back in the water soon.

I’m placed carefully into the sand and the beast lands next to me. It sits back on its hind legs and reaches forward with its beak, biting at the net trapping my body. In seconds, the snare slips to the ground and I can move again.

I stretch out my tail, shimmering ruby scales in the mid morning sun. I can feel the griffin staring at me. Wow, those eyes.

“Uh, th-thanks, a lot, really,” I manage to get out, inching my way towards the water.

“Of course, happy to help,” it replies in an eerily human-like voice. “Guys like us, we gotta stick together if we’re ever gonna make it!”

I offer a tight smile and drag the fins of my tail into the shallow water.

“Hey, uh, can all griffins speak?” I ask, giving into my curiosity.

The griffin… smiles? “Only some of us bothered to get to know the human language for survival but… I know it for a different reason.”

I blink. A reason other than for survival? For fun?

“What… what do you mean? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Mm, I-I don’t think I can tell you that… Very few griffins know about that… and it’s my first ever time talking to a mermaid- err.. merboy? But… but maybe another time,” the griffin explains.

I nod. I could respect that, having a pretty big secret myself. I ease myself farther into the ocean so that I’m now treading water.

“Well… thanks again, I-I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Don’t even worry about it, but, uh, I gotta go now, so, until next time!”

The griffin launched itself from the land with one mighty leap and beat of its wings, soaring gracefully into the sky.

I wave after it and stare over the line of trees it disappeared behind for a moment longer than necessary. What a beautiful creature…

 

——————

 

It’s a hot day, the sun is beating down onto me and I’m so tired but I need to keep my form for just a little longer.

I plod through the wide clearing to the sea. My colony hadn’t planned on staying here for this long but now there was talk of making the move permanent despite the higher population of humans.

I come to the water’s edge and stare into the water, hoping for a fish. Or a pretty merboy…

It’s a quiet day so I retreat to the shade of the forest but don’t watch where I put my feet.

I hear the snap of the trap before I feel the indescribable pain shoot through my hind leg. I screech into the forest, startling birds and squirrels. The pain is mind numbing and I collapse onto my belly, trying to hide in the furthest corners of my mind.

I’m panting in minutes and there’s blood oozing and pooling around my leg now. It’s sticky and warm, collecting the sand from the shore. I let out another cry, feeling the sharp metal teeth of the trap digging in deeper into my flesh with every twitch of my body.

All humans seem to have disappeared into their homes due to the heat, but I’m stuck out under the sun to roast like a chicken. I quickly assess my surroundings. There’s no one around.

I let myself morph. I feel the beak on my face, the feathers on my head, neck and shoulders, the fur on my lower half, and the talons and paws melt away. I’m left with the limbs and face of my human form but glacial blue eyes in contrast to the more natural coffee brown ones I sport as a full human. There are longer, claw-like nails, heightened senses and of course my wings still sit on my back, just as powerful.

I fan myself, thankful for the fact that I’d at least kept my shorts on from the last time I’d taken my complete human form, but they’re sticky with my blood and now stained.

I grimace as the clamp tightens around my now skinnier ankle and draws fresh blood. It’s hot enough to pass out as it is but now I’m losing blood. Fast. Even my enhanced healing can’t keep up with this.

I cry, a more human sound this time, and lay panting and sweating in the burning sand. Maybe the colony will patrol later tonight and they’ll find my body to at least give it a proper burial. No, I don’t think I’ll make it out of this. Human traps are weird, devious and hard to figure out, not that I even have the energy to try.

I cocoon myself with my wings and the pain dulls after some time. I don’t know how long the sun has been beating down on my huddled, weakened form, but a soft whisper stirs me.

“Psst! Hey, you!”

I lift my wings just enough to peak out and the gasp is audible. I turn towards the sea. The top of a head and a pair of eyes poke up from the surface. I watch as shoulders and a stomach appear and my jaw drops in recognition.

The merboy from before swims towards me, dragging his body from the water into land.

“Oh!” He exclaims upon seeing my mangled leg. “Here- umm… okay, I got this.”

He swivels around so he’s sitting on what I’d guess his butt would be and stares at his shimmering tail.

I blink. “It-it was nice of you to keep me company,” I force out through gritted teeth, “but I’m not really in a good mood right now-“ I’m cut off by a hiss of pain from myself as he reaches forward and pokes at the trap.

He flinches back before inching closer. That’s when I notice. His tail has turned more into his skin color, the scales fading away into skin and legs. My eyes widen.

He stands up and I’m relieved he’s wearing shorts as well. Not even sure how that works but I’m very thankful for it.

He moves with confident steps towards my leg, careful of my huge wings sprawled out uselessly at my sides. I’m kind of embarrassed but then I remember having helped him earlier and realize that there’s nothing left to hide.

The stunning merboy, turned human, set to work at the trap on my foot. He followed the chain from the trap to somewhere in the brush, bringing a stick and using it as a tool. The chain slackened and then he gently pressed down on the trap, disarming it and setting me free.

I gasp in relief, bringing my foot up to inspect the damage. I wince at the dried and still oozing blood but the pain ebbs when my healing factor is able to kick in.

The boy walks over with a tight bundle of leaves in his hand and dabs away the blood around the wound.

He won’t look me in the eye, but I thank him anyway. “You really saved me today.”

He only chuckles and shakes his head. “Don’t even worry about it. I’m just returning the favor.”

We sit in the shade for a moment and I fan us both.

“How old are you?” He finally asks me. His question catches me off guard.

“Umm, I just saw the spring equinox for the… 12th time. You?”

“Oh…”

I cock my head. “Why? Do you use different measurements?”

“Uh, well kinda,” he shrugs. “I mean, my human father told me I have a birthday but I haven't seen him in so long… age isn’t really a big deal where my mom is from.”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Just to see if you were still a kid.”

“Ah… well I guess I’m almost a human teen but I’m like a griffin kid. We age slower than humans.”

“That’s so cool!” He marvels at my knowledge. It’s not much, in my opinion, but he must not learn the same things I do in having both of my parents present in my life currently.

“Hey, uh, what’s your name?” I finally ask, letting my wings rest. The bleeding has definitely stopped but my foot is still in the process of healing so I guess I won’t really be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Well what’s yours?” He smirks. He’s cute.

“I asked you first though!”

“Hmmm… maybe another time.” He looks away, studying the sand.

I lean over towards him, ignoring the sharp pain in my ankle, and stare really hard at the side of his head, squinting my eyes into narrow slits.

He can feel me staring and he giggles to himself. I can see his face flush and his stubbornness begin to relent.

“Okay, okay!” He laughs, turning back and gently pushing my face away.

“My friends call me Min.” I grin. It sounds nice, the way he says it.

“I go by Yang around other griffins,” I tell him, stretching my wings to shield my eyes from the glare of the setting sun.

He smiles and nods, looking out over the water as the sun melts beneath the horizon and bleeds pinks, oranges, yellows and reds into the water.

We sit for a while, occasionally exchanging a few words about life or foods, even after my ankle is in good enough shape for me to stand. And then even after the sun sets altogether, because we’re friends now and I couldn’t be happier.

 

———————

 

They began planning when and where to meet so they could see each other more often. They never saw each other in their human form again though, to avoid suspicious parents and for an easy escape should they be spotted. But neither minded. In his griffin form, “Yang” had the coolest frost blue eyes and Min’s human-black hair changed color - a cherry red - in the water to match his scarlet tail in addition to fins for ears and patches of scales sprinkled over his body.

Time passed and they became really close to the point where they met multiple times a day at the large rocks off the edge of a remote cliff or at the edge of the forest. They laughed easily, teasing one another and joking about everything. They talked about their split lives, though more of Min’s as he was still required to visit his grandparents’ every other week and Yang’s human mother never had much time for him because of her work schedule.

Min tried to get Yang to swim once, though the griffin didn’t want to get his feathers or paws sticky with seawater. Yang never picked Min up again since the merboy seemed to have despised flying before, and instead settled for soaring by his side, skimming the surface of the water while the other dove through the waves. Their friendship was beautiful.

But times change. Yang’s griffin colony had only been checking out the area for the year and insisted on moving on to find a new, better home after their old one had been infested by humans.

“Min, I have to leave tonight,” the griffin said, sitting on a rock not far off from the shore with the adorable merboy swimming nearby.

His head shot up from the water, spraying the other’s feathers with water. He didn’t say anything but his glistening eyes and pouting lip spoke volumes.

The griffin looked away, afraid that he might cry as well.

“W-will you come b-back?”

The waves lapped at the base of the rock.

“I don’t know,” was all he could say, because he didn’t.

The air between them was heavy and neither wanted to accept the reality. The setting sun cast a golden glow on the merboy’s face, reminding the griffin just how beautiful and what a ray of sunshine his friend is. “I’ll do my best.”

The sun shone bright but his smile was brighter. “I will too!”

Min propelled himself from the water and latched his arms around Yang’s neck. They embraced each other, a mess of water, scales, feathers and giggles.

“Here.” Min’s hand glided down the side of his tail, stopping on a scale on where the side of his thigh would be, and hooked his fingernail under it. In a swift, clean motion, he ripped his own, beautiful scale off, holding it out to his friend. “Take this with you. It will remind you of me. Of us.”

Even on it’s own, it shone and sparkled in the light of the setting sun, like a flame of burning passion.

“I-... thank you,” the griffin managed to stutter. He was careful not to drop it and clutched it between his talons while admiring the light green flickering over the smooth surface from the ocean water bellow him. The other beamed.

He never felt the need to preserve something for eternity more than he did in that moment. Well, maybe a bit more whenever Min smiled or laughed…

“Uhh,” he panicked, looking at his friend who’d slipped back into the water but still clung to their rock, “I… I can give you something too,” he said. Min sputtered in protest but his friend didn’t listen as he stretched his head back, beak nuzzling into the thick mass of feathers on his wings and closing shut on a primary feather. He plucked it and let it flutter into Min’s outstretched hands.

“I-I can’t take this!” He exclaimed, marveing at the fine, ash-grey fibers that shone in the sun light.

“It’s okay! Then you have something to give back to me too,” he chucked, grinning from ear to ear.

Min pouted and looked up at him with huge, round eyes before a smile split his face and made his eyes smile just as big.

“You just promised to come back! I’ll keep it safe for you then!! I promise!!” They laughed, the merboy getting playfully splashed by the griffin which resulted in an all out chase over the vast expanse of water they called home.

Their time was short and Seungmin found himself waiting at the edge of the forest out of habit the next day. It hurt, but less knowing that they ~~might~~ will meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all will be explained soon, if you're a bit confused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh ho ho would ya lookie here
> 
> an update. nice.

**6 YEARS LATER**

“Is everyone _excited_ for a _new school year_??” A dull chorus of ‘sure’s and ‘I guess’s was all the homeroom teacher was able to draw from the already wiped-out students, despite the fact that the first day hadn’t even begun. “Oh, _come on_! This is your _last_ year in _high school_ , peoples! Well, if you’ve done it correctly,” she added as an unnecessary afterthought.

Seungmin suppressed a sigh with a side of over exaggerated eye rolling and instead fiddled with his yellow, Ticonderoga, #2 pencil with a pink eraser. He liked to think of himself as that pencil: common, generic and good enough for its purpose.

He’d gone into his freshman, sophomore and junior year believing that each would be different than the last - he’d get to join a club or two, maybe even a sport, make some friends and achieve the A’s he strived for. And every year was different, just not in the way he’d hoped them to be. More often than not, he found himself sitting towards the back of the classroom, but not at the back because that’s where the obnoxiously popular boys sit and harass the teacher from afar, with no one sitting closer than two desks away and his eyes on the board but his head in the clouds. He often wrote in a journal he had about how he longed to know what went on up in the sky, where birds soared and leaves danced on the wind.

After an agonizing two minutes, the bell signaling the start of homeroom shattered his thoughts and made him jump. They - the people in charge or whatever - called it a bell, though it was more of an obnoxious clarinet sound that was annoyingly similar to his own alarm clock, which made Seungmin hate it even more.

“ _Well then_ ,” the overly enthusiastic teacher - who reminded Seungmin of those women in commercials for shit like Lyrica, who look and sound way too happy for the never ending list of fatal side effects that tail a collage of less than pleasing wanna-be aesthetic shots and uncomfortable acting - began, clapping her hands and rubbing them together while forcing a smile and making her way to the front of the room, “let’s begin your _senior year_!!”

Seungmin allowed his soul to leave his body, reminding himself to call it back before he went home so he could make it sound like he’d paid attention in class when his grandparents asked, and leaned back in his chair.

“We won’t be going over the handbook, assuming you’ve all read it three times before and know the rules of the school but should the need arise, feel free to refresh your memory. With that out of the way, let’s begin with _telling the class_ a little bit _about ourselves_!”

The groans, that were probably meant to stay within everyone’s minds, were audible and sounded like she’d announced a pop quiz. She completely disregarded the upset students and proceeded to scribble on the whiteboard.

“Glad to know you’re all awake!” She said, while writing. Seungmin detected movement to his right and turned his head just in time to see a girl smashing her head against the desk, which emitted a loud whack. The teacher didn’t even flinch. “Now, students, please direct your attention to the board!”

On said board were four things listed, presumably what she wanted them to share about themselves. They went: 1) Name/nickname 2) Clubs/sports 3) ~//•*Fun Fact*•\\\~ 4) What you’re looking forward to this year. Seungmin wanted to drown himself when he read ‘fun fact’.

The teacher read them all off, using herself as an example. She, apparently, went by ‘Ms. Smith’ (and Seungmin thought _he_ was as generic as it gets), used to pole vault and play basketball but now co advised the feminist club, she liked to bake and was looking forward to “getting to know all of you”.

“Now, let’s begin! I’ll call you up, so I can learn your names and faces, and you can stand right here,” she pointed to her feet to emphasize that she meant right there, “and we’ll go down the list!”

She retrieved her attendance sheet and moved to the back of the classroom. A powermove, if you asked Seungmin. Teachers who stand at the back know what the fuck is up and probably won’t hesitate to ‘collect your phone’ or turn you in to the office for trying to vape in the back of the classroom.

“... Heather.. Ay...ah-... Ahleex?” So she was also one of those teachers who fuck up the pronunciation beyond recognition, requiring that an unlucky student must view the sheet to figure out what the fuck they were trying to say. Even Seungmin, though he rarely bothered to learn the names of the people around him, knew her name was spelled ‘Alix’ and pronounced ‘Alex’.

A girl, decked out in lululemon, american eagle and items from whatever other stores Basic Girls™ like to buy from, walked up to the front. Her hair looked like it had been straightened - Seungmin could tell as his half sister, despite her naturally straight hair, like to straighten it because it just ‘pulls the whole look together’ - and she had that ‘I don’t give a fuck about my grades or where I go to college’ attitude, which is common amongst seniors and high schoolers in general.

“Haii~” she said, sounding like the most valley girl to ever valley, “Mai name iz Heatherrr, Ai play fieeld hockeyy-” some kid in the back shouted ‘that isn’t a sport’ and received a few stray giggles and a playful glare from Heatherrr that most definitely meant ‘let’s fuck later’, “Ahhh… Ai really, like, _reallyy_ love the beaach aaand… Ai hope to make new friends this yeaar!”

Scattered applause echoed in the otherwise silent room and she received a thumbs up from the teacher. Seungmin rested his head on the desk and gazed out the window, mentally checking out for the twenty other introductions.

He was unfortunate enough to check back in at the exact moment the teacher was butchering his name.

“S-S-Songmin? Soongmong?? Seeyungmeng Kim???” He hauled himself up from his seat and raised his hand before she could try again.

“It’s Seungmin,” he said, trying and failing to not cringe. He got to the front, letting his oversized Day6 sweater swallow his hands and tried not to shuffle his feet as he stood. “My name is _Seungmin_ , ummm, I am not-”

There was a loud string of knocks at the door and the sound of someone frantically jostling the door handle. Seungmin jumped back, startled by the sudden noise, and slowly inched over to open the door, glancing at the teacher for permission first though.

He opened the door and found a boy, slightly matted, black, fluffy hair, about his height and a slightly flushed face. He carried a satchel - man purse - over his shoulder and wore a simple black shirt with the word ‘boys’ written in white letters over the center of it. His eyes were narrow, definitely of East Asian heritage, and he had a strong jaw but still a boyish look to him.

Seungmin stepped back to allow the kid in. He hastily apologized, glancing nervously around the room.

“Please excuse my tardiness,” he said to the teacher, fiddling with one of the buckles on his satchel - man purse -, “I got lost on my way to the school and then I couldn’t get my schedule and… yeah, I’m really really sorry!”

The teacher must’ve found it endearing because she beamed at the boy and assured it was all right.

“But while you’re up there, why don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself, _buddy_!” Seungmin felt the nearly irresistible urge to hurl all contents in his stomach, including his stomach itself at the sound of his teacher saying ‘buddy’.

The boy brushed a hand through his hair, trying to fix it probably, and gave a nervous laugh, shifting from one foot to the other while seemingly disregarding the fact he’d interrupted, and stolen the spotlight from, Seungmin.

“Uh, hi! My name is Jeongin Yang, uh, I don’t really do sports, I- I like to sing though and, uhhh, oh, I guess that’s a fun fact, ummm, well, I guess I’m looking forward to finishing up my days as a high schooler and have a good time.” The applause he received was nothing short of genuine and wholehearted, a stark contrast in the previous responses. Everyone seemed to like this boy already.

“That was wonderful Jungyin!” The teacher exclaimed, clapping loudly. “How about you and, uh, you and your friend there find your seats and we’ll continue!”

Seungmin could object and point out the fact that he barely even got to start his turn but he didn’t care enough and happily made his way back to his seat. The kid Jeongin trailed after him, slightly unsure and confused. Seungmin plopped back down at his desk and gestured to the three empty desks surrounding him, one on each side.

Jeongin slid off his satchel - man purse- and slid into the seat across to Seungmin, offering a polite smile and nod the other’s way. Seungmin didn’t fail to notice the outrageous number of eyes glancing their way, more Jeongin’s way though, and goo-goo eyes girls gave him. Seungmin turned to look back at the next presenter, a boy named Jared though he didn’t hear a word he said.

The bell cut Ms. Smith’s icebreaker short, thankfully, and Seungmin scooped up his backpack and dasheed to his next class before the hallways could get flooded. He entered and was greeted with the sweet sight of a familiar face.

He hurried over to his friend, Jisung’s side, and slid into the seat next to his. Jisung turned and his eyes widened before they scrunched up from his smile.

“Minnie!! You’re in this class too??”

Seungmin nodded and they hugged. “You’re acting as if you haven’t seen me in weeks, Jisung. We just saw each other yesterday morning,” he commented, dumping his backpack on the floor next to his desk.

“Yeah, but it’s nice to see you, you know, out in the world,” Jisung shrugged, pulling out a mechanical pencil and a notebook.

Seungmin and Jisung had known each other since they were very young but hadn’t grown close until they’d ended up at the same high school. Their different interests found ways to cross over and they were able to talk comfortably with one another. They, unlike many of Seungmin’s other friends from school, were able to see each other outside of school often.

They talked briefly about anything but a school before the teacher began class, all the while glancing over at each other and whispering snarky comments to one another.

Lunch rolled around and while Seungmin rarely ever ate, he was relieved when it came. He hurried out with his stuff and went straight for the stairwell on the far end of the school. It was called the ‘Spiral Staircase’ as it was the only spiral staircase though it was rarely used. He liked to spend his time there because it was quiet, secluded, and well heated during the cold moths as well as air conditioned during the summer months.

He pulled a small tupperware container of grapes and happily munched away while looking over his homework for that night. Not too bad, only a couple of worksheets and permission slips that needed signing.

He’d gotten comfortable when he heard the soft echo of footfalls coming down the stairs. He pulled out his earbuds and found the new kid from homeroom wandering down the stairs, looking a little lost.

Jeongin hopped down the stairs and jumped when he found Seungmin sitting under the staircase, notebook in his lap and eyes fixed on him.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Jeongin apologized quickly and frantically. “I didn’t realize someone else was here, I-I can go, i-if you’d like…?”

Seungmin found it amusing how eager this boy was to please. He himself couldn’t give a rat’s ass about what these people in the town thought of him and knew most of the other kids felt the same way.

“No, you can sit here too, if you’d like,” Seungmin offered, shuffling over a bit to make room. Jeongin grinned and dumped his satchel - man purse- on the floor before settling down next to Seungmin. Jeongin rummaged through his stuff and pulled out his own homework, muttering over math equations for a while before Seungmin broke the delicate silence between them.

“You just moved here?” He asked, gazing over. Jeongin looked up at Seungmin and nodded.

“Yeah, I just moved back here about a week ago-“

“I’m sorry, you moved _back_?” Seungmin interrupted, not believing the other’s words for a second. He would’ve seen him if he’d lived here before, surely.

Jeongin nodded.

“This is a pretty shit town,” Seungmin deadpanned, arching an eyebrow, “why the hell would you come back if you had the chance to leave in the first place?”

Jeongin’s gaze traveled past Seungmin then, into something Seungmin could never see, even if he turned to look over his shoulder.

Jeongin gave a quiet laugh and sighed. “A promise.”

 

 

On his way back to his grandparents’ house, Jeongin’s words replayed in the back of his mind. The fuck kind of promise would bring him back to a shit town like this? It would have to be one hell of a promise for Seungmin to even consider returning. He loved his home with his grandparents, father and half-sister but he preferred the home he shared with his mother.

He took a slight detour, coming to a small ledge of rocks that lead down into the churning waters of the ocean. The waves rolled in steadily, like music to Seungmin’s ears. He preferred the home he shared with his mother that was out there. In the ocean, under the water with aquatic wonders surrounding him on all sides.

He sat above the water, staring down into its depths and allowed his thoughts to wander. Wander to the times before he’d been forced to take up human schooling, when he and his friends would swinm out into deeper waters, farther off the coast to explore sunken ships and dark caves. Back to when he’d had friends.

A light tap on his shoulder startled him and he found Jisung settling down next to him.

“Miss it already?” He asked, giving a playful shove.

Seungmin nodded and allowed the smell of saltwater to fill his lungs. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to last the week,” he joked.

“It’s always hard,” Jisung agreed. They sat and chatted a bit, Seungmin complained about his homeroom teacher and Jisung comforted him as best he could through his laughter.

“Wait, so she seriously bypassed you for a new kid, much less a _tardy_ new kid?? This is, like, pretty damn cliché, it’s like you’re attracted to teachers or some shit,” Jisung commented.

“Please enlighten me about this ‘cliché’ you speak of because I don’t think I understand,” Seungmin challenged, rolling his eyes. Back in sophomore year, Seungmin has found himself staring at his English teacher more than necessary and Jisung has noticed. They’d come to the conclusion, yes, said teacher was hot but also male, adult and married. Jisung would never let Seungmin forget the moment they’d found out his ‘crush’ was married and how he’d visibly deflated.

“Now you gotta prove your worth to Ms. Smith, go get ‘em tiger!” Jisung joked, laughing when Seungmin whacked his arm.

“I have homework, I’ll see you tomorrow, Jisung,” Seungmin said, rolling his eyes playfully and standing to take off towards his home.

“See ya!” Jisung called after him as they parted ways.

Seungmin didn’t have to stay up too late that night, his homework only took a couple of hours and he was able to finish all of his chores with enough time to actually sit down and eat dinner. His grandma loved him dearly, but never knew nor met the other side - his mother’s side. His father had, for the most part, accepted the fact that Seungmin’s mom never wanted to see him again, after he cheated on her while she was pregnant with Seungmin, but insisted on upholding his role as a father and taking care of Seungmin too. So sometimes being at home could get a bit awkward if the topic of his mother was brought up.

Seungmin’s sister popped into his room when she returned from volleyball conditioning, announcing her return, and retreated to her room where she probably spent more time texting boys and scrolling through Instagram than actually working on homework.

She knew nothing of Seungmin’s other life and family, and he’d like to keep it that way. She was only a year below Seungmin but perhaps three years advanced in her studies, so it was kind of odd that she hadn’t caught on to his sometimes sudden disappearances on the weekends or the excessively long times he spent at ‘Jisung’s house’. But, hey, he’ll take what he can get.

His head hit his pillow around nine and he planned on trying to get more sleep now, as if it would help when midterms roll around, but a loud, piercing noise rattled his bones and made his heart palpitate.

A loud screech, almost like that of a dinosaur’s (not that he’d heard what they “really” sound like), shattered the symphony of crickets and cicadas with an owl accompaniment. The air was eerily still and an extremely faint, all too familiar hissing noise of an angered mermaid followed. Another screech, this time followed with a chorus of screeches, pierced the air before everything fell still again. Seungmin’s sleep schedule was ditched that night and he stayed up until the early hours of the morning, distracting himself with Day6 content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was 90% crack im honestly not very sorry
> 
> pls leave comments with you opinions, im an insecure teenager and need love


	3. Chapter 3

“Dude, what happened to you last night?” Jisung asked upon seeing Seungmin’s death-on-legs state.

“I… I didn’t get much sleep…” He muttered, burying his face in Jisung’s shoulder and clinging to his friend.

“Did… did you hear it too?” Jisung asked cautiously. They had houses relatively close to the ocean, both for convenience and cheapness.

Seungmin nodded. “Sounded bad…” he murmured as they walked up to the school.

“Just, try to get through today, okay?” Jisung said as they entered the lobby. “If you need help understanding anything, just call or text me, okay? But try your best to get through the day. We have today and tomorrow until the weekend,” his friend encouraged, patting his head.

Seungmin nodded and dragged himself to homeroom, taking his seat from yesterday and laying his head in his arms on the desk.

The bell rang and the remaining students trickled in, though Jeongin was nowhere to be seen. Seungmin sighed, assuming the kid was mingling with his newfound friends and turned to stare out the window as soon as the teacher began her rambling.

The school wasn’t fancy, it was deemed functional by the state but even that was sometimes questionable. One time during his freshman year, a tile from the roof dropped down without warning on a girl who’d just refused to change out of her ‘too short shorts’ and given her a minor concussion. Another time the band director found half of his ceiling in scattered piles of rubble the day after it had been deemed ‘okay’ by the inspectors. Point was, the school didn’t really have money for vegetation and decorations but there were a few bushes and shit here and there and in the bush Seungmin was staring at, was movement.

It was too much to be a bird but there was no sign of any bear and for a minute Seungmin was frightened that whatever had terrorized that mermaid last night, was here to get him. But then a head of fluffy black hair poked up from the green leaves and he locked eyes with Jeongin.

The boy placed a finger to his lips, eyes wide with fear. Seungmin swallowed and nodded subtly, glancing around to see if anyone noticed. The teacher had her back turned and was pointing at different ‘objectives’ she hoped to achieve everyday in homeroom. None of the kids were paying attention to Seungmin. Or the teacher, really.

So he rose and moved to the window turning the handle and pushing it a crack. A loud squeak filled the room and he leapt back, as if creating two feet of distance with the window would free him of any and all accusations.

“Umm, uhh, _young man_ , may I ask what you’re doing?” The teacher asked, head cocked and arms crossed as if he’d just been caught making out with someone in the janitor’s closet.

“It- ah, I’m a queasy from something I must’ve eaten this morning and was, uh, hoping to get a bit of fresh air…” he explained, deciding his excuse was believable enough and giving himself a mental pat on the back.

“Oh, why of course! Feel free to open as many windows as you’d like if it keeps you from vomiting in my classroom. Now, where were we… ah yes, _f_ _riendship_!”

Seungmin didn’t even want to know what the teacher was talking about and proceeded to push the window all the way open, hopefully big enough for an eighteen year old kid to climb through. This bitch was no Peter Pan but he got in without killing himself or making noise.

Jeongin hurriedly slipped into the seat in front of Seungmin, shooting him a smile of thanks before trying to make it look like he’d been there the entire time.

Later that day Seungmin found that they had gym class together, though the boy never changed in the locker rooms. At least, Seungmin had never seen him in the locker rooms but respected that people had their secrets. He was more focused on coming up with a list of reasons why gym senior year is stupid. So far he had twenty two.

That day, he paid closer attention to Jeongin, finding some of the boy’s habits a bit strange. He jumped at the smallest of noises, rarely ate, could see things a mile away and was never out of breath. Even after running the Fitness Gram Pacer Test™ in gym, one of the stupidest things in the world, the boy had maintained and incredibly steady pace for the fast speed he’d been running at and barely even broken a sweat.

People flocked to him, even though it was only his second day, and offered him a seat at their lunch table or a desk next to them or a spot on the school’s semi functional elevator. Seungmin couldn’t deny that the boy was likeable but he couldn’t place exactly why he was drawn to him.

“Hey! Hey, wait up!” Seungmin was just down the stairs leading up to the school after the final bell when he heard a voice calling. He assumed it couldn’t be for him so he proceeded, only to hear the person call louder.

The fed up part of him told him to just go home and collapse on his couch but the curious part of him wanted to wait and see which bastard was ignoring their friend. He stopped and turned to find Jeongin flying down the stairs and over the sidewalk to catch up with him.

“Hi, hey,” Jeongin said, catching his breath when he halted next to a confused but unbothered Seungmin.

“Can… can I help you?” Seungmin asked, trying not to sound condescending but probably failing.

Jeongin looked him in the eye and smiled. When Jeongin smiled, the whole world seemed brighter. He looked three years younger and much sweeter than when he sat with his resting face. “I just wanted to thank you properly for saving me this morning.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Seungmin replied, nodding tersely.

“Umm, I, uh, I didn’t get your name…” Jeongin said sheepishly.

Seungmin wanted to smother this stranger with love for an inexplicable reason. “It’s Seungmin,” he replied, offering a more genuine smile.

“Oh wow, are you Korean?” Jeongin asked, looking surprised. Seungmin nodded. He was definitely half korean but he wasn’t sure exactly how his other half of DNA worked. Either way, he could speak a bit of the language and thoroughly understand it though his father nor grandparents saw any reason in teaching him how to hold a conversation or read and write.

“You’re Korean too?” Seungmin asked, shuffling a bit in his place. Jeongin beamed and nodded.

“As far as I know,” he replied. Seungmin didn’t think it was appropriate to ask what that meant but he was itching to know more about this honey-bunch-sugar-plum-pumpie-umpie-umpkin.

So instead he just nodded smiled. “Where did you, like, move to? Like, where in the town?” He asked.

Jeongin paused, thinking. “It’s like… you know those woods? Like, by the edge of them, close to the CVS,” he said. That area was mostly abandoned and housing was incredibly cheap, since rumors from years ago, perhaps when Seungmin was around thirteen, had spread about wild beasts unlike anything else prowled the woods, ready to devour any straggling child or person. But also because it was far from the center of town and the road leading to and from the freeway, which made it inconvenient.

“That’s cool,” Seungmin said. “But, uh, that’s kinda far…”

Jeongin just shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, I only ever have homework on my to-do list.”

Seungmin mapped out the town in his mind and found that they both had to walk along the shore to get to their homes. And he wouldn’t mind spending more time with this kid.

“Would you, uh, like to walk with me? I, uh, I go a similar way to get to my house…” Seungmin offered, avoiding looking at Jeongin for fear of rejection.

“That sounds like fun!” Jeongin exclaimed, clapping his hands and bouncing up and down. Seungmin didn’t try to hide the smile that spread over his face at the sight of it and began down the path.

For the next few of months, all through September, October and November, they walked back together mostly every day. Jeongin was ‘adopted’ by the theater geeks after two days in Stagecraft and was more often seen with friends than without. Seungmin could vaguely remember a time he had multitudes of people looking out for him, back before he’d begun the tough life of living two. He still had many friends, but when he hung out with them he was usually off to the side, listening more than talking.

He didn’t envy Jeongin though, as the younger would always make time for them to walk home at least twice a week, and in that time they learned a lot about each other. Jeongin really liked to sing, just like Seungmin, who offered to share his music and found that while their tastes weren’t identical to begin with, they were able to expand on it once introduced to new music. Jeongin liked to go on runs through the forest he said, which startled Seungmin that such a little squishy bunny wouldn’t be afraid of the stories of that forest.

Jeongin learned that, once Seungmin let’s you into his life as a friend, he can get really clingy and bitchy. He found himself getting an earful and a half about everyone and everything Seungmin found annoying or stupid, on the daily. He also learned that Seungmin loved the ocean and swimming, to which he revealed that he himself couldnt swim and didn’t /love/ the ocean.

“You’re joking!” Seungmin had gasped, staring with his jaw on the ground his eyes bursting from their sockets. “We gotta get you in the water!”

“I- uhh… I’m not really interested, but thanks…” Jeongin politely declined, shrugging. Seungmin frowned and scrunched up his nose.

“If you didn’t move here for the awesome beach or the shitty school, why even come?” Seungmin had wondered aloud.

Jeongin had only laughed shook his head, staring wistfully out at the ocean. They dropped the topic then and there.

Another day, Seungmin had noticed a worn piece of twine strung on Jeongin’s neck. It sometimes poked out from his shirt, but only then did he ask about it.

“What’s that?” He’d asked, finding himself reaching for it unconsciously. Jeongin had flinched back, putting a hand over it.

“Oh, sorry… It’s, uh, it’s a locket,” he’d explained, pulling the end out from inside his shirt. There was indeed, a small metal locket strung on the end. Seungmin had found himself reaching for it again, without wanting to. He quickly snatched his hand back, though he found it tough to do so. “It has, a, uh, picture of my mom in it,” Jeongin said. Seungmin could easily tell he was lying but let it go, trying to keep his hands at his sides. He didn’t ask about it again, but found himself staring at the small lump it created under his shirt more and more often. 

Their friendship bloomed and thrived, mostly consisting of letting Jeongin through the window once a week, eating lunch in a comfortable silence, bitching to eachother, clowning eachother and runs to Micky D’s for a bite to eat after school.

"Wait, you've never tried Starbucks before?" Seungmin had gawked when Jeongin asked what a "frap-oo-kino" was, only after laughing for about ten minutes at the other's butchered pronunciation. Jeongin had shaken his head and that was all it took for Seungmin to drag him by the wrist into the shop and order them each a grande vanilla bean frapuccino.

Seungmin couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so happy around someone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry the ending is kinda abrupt, i’ll try to work on that ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it’s shorter, i was having trouble deciding where to make the chapter end...

“Four day weekend!” Jisung whooped as he sprinted down the path, with Seungmin running after him. Thanksgiving break was always a relief, as neither of their human families celebrated it being immigrants and also not seeing a reason to celebrate mass genocide of the native people. Or was that Columbus day...?

They laughed and dashed to their homes as fast as possible, grabbing anything they might need and snuck out around by the edge of the woods to a sandy slope leading into the water.

“Pants?” Jisung asked Seungmin as they stripped off their shirt and wrapped their shoes and socks in them for easier carrying. Seungmin nodded. He didn’t need anyone coming by and finding his pokémon boxers.

Seungmin adjusted the khaki shorts he’d opted for that unusually warm autumn day around his waist and stretched his arms and back. They stashed their clothing under random rocks, flicking their wrists and etching barely noticeable scratches into the rocks to make it easier to locate their belongings later. Then they kicked a bit of sand over them for good measure.

Seungmin went first, taking a running leap into the water. The water was freezing and he held in a scream, focusing on propelling himself further out from the land. He heard the sploosh that was Jisung entering and they dove deeper together.

After about twenty seconds, he felt a warm and tingly sensation spread over his body. He stopped swimming to allow himself to transform. His legs were pulled together as if by magnets and he felt warmth return to his extremities. Skin stretched between his fingers, creating shallowly webbed hands and he felt the familiar weight of his tail, which extended further than his human legs by maybe a foot and a half. He could breathe easily through the gills that formed on the sides of his neck and hear better in the water with the fins that replaced his ears.

Jisung had fully transformed too and Seungmin grinned at the sight of his friend’s sparkling marigold scales and broad caudal fin. It was truncated, and had a wide base that was slightly rounded outward, flowing in the ocean currents with the small soft dorsal fins near the base of his tail he liked to call his ‘wingmen’. Jisung’s hair melted into a golden blonde and his long locks created a halo effect around his head in the water.

Seungmin’s own tail shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, a mix of light and dark flaming reds all along his scales except for a small, greying patch on the side. He rubbed at it, suddenly reminded of an old, old memory. The kind that you can’t quite place but you still feel it. He felt a torrent of feelings, mostly warm and happy, stirring in his mind, and blurry memories flashing by clouded his thoughts. He remembered laughing, splashing and talking… but he couldn’t remember with whom. Not for the life of him. Sometimes it just be like that, memories pile on top of memories and then you forget.

“You never did tell me what happened to your scale,” Jisung remarked, flicking his tail to propel himself out towards more open waters. Seungmin shrugged, running his fingers through his now cherry red hair and following after Jisung.

“Uhh, there’s not much to tell. I don’t have my scale anymore. Bboom, done, finished.”

“Come onn, did you like, swim into a rock?” Jisung questioned, determined to get an answer. Seungmin rolled his eyes and shook his head. His own tail tapered down to a pretty thin width, despite him being male, but it made him one of the most agile and swiftest swimmers in their class. Jisung’s more fan-like feather tail was better for distance and power, so he liked to stay further away from small caves and crowded reefs.

“No, I didn’t,” Seungmin said, turning towards the pull of the ocean current. They flicked their tails lazily, letting the water drag them home and Jisung finally dropped the subject.

They came in view of their community, bustling with merfolk. The familiar sounds of chatter and sea creatures made Seungmin’s heart swell and he darted down the rows of homes made in underwater cliffs and corals. He and Jisung navigated the twists in the small reef, finally coming to their homes.

“I’ll see you at class later, Jisung,” Seungmin called, waving goodbye to his friend as they entered their respective homes.

Seungmin, essentially, lived in a rock. His home was one of the smaller ones, as it was usually just him and his mom where as some of the bigger families had taken the time to construct actual buildings to live in. Barnacles lined the doorframe and glowing corals had been strung from the ceiling or stuck to the inside walls.

There was a place to sleep in the far corners, kelp woven cushions that served as mattresses and sea sponges made decent pillows. Merfolk don’t spend much time cooped up in their homes, as many venture out to retrieve valuables to trade with or find food on a daily basis for the entire day, so comfort is never the priority.

Life under water was drastically different from life on land, even when you exclude the whole underwater vs land thing. Each had their charms and each had their downsides. For example, no ice cream underwater but bitchy townsfolk on land. But other than the environment, creatures and lifestyle, the feeling of living in the ocean was so liberating compared to land. You had this whole blue-green expanse of water you could just explore in. Nothing to stop you from swimming across the world and setting up a new life thousands of miles away. And there were so many nifty things merfolk came up with that humans would never be able to fathom, in Seungmin's very humble opinion. 

Seungmin rummaged around in the metal trunk, found on a sunken ship, where they stashed snacks. He pulled out long lengths of seaweed that he had collected hopefully not too long ago and oysters to go with it. He quickly prepared something like the equivalent to a burrito and stuffed it in an old, worn down, giant clam shell that was long dead and now used as a bag of sorts. He hurried out of his home and to the old cave where the water was calm.

“She still hasn’t come back?” A boy whispered to his friend when Seungmin swam into the cave. He slowed, looking for an open space.

“Yeah,” his friend whispered, “she told me she was just gonna take a peek when she left…”

“You think it had something to do with the humans?”

“No. Those sounds - the ones we heard - they were not human, they were like… like… like birds,” the friend described, “you’ve heard a bird before, right?”

”Of course I have, krill head, it’s not like I’ve never poked my head above the surface before!”

Seungmin brushed it off and threw himself down in the far corner of the underwater cave. He pulled out his food and began munching away, waiting for their lesson to begin.

They don’t learn much math or science but instead focus more on survival. Merchildren are taught how to wield weapons, such as tridents and spears, how to handle different species of animals, how to find food, what’s safe to eat, other cities and communities built by merfolk and the history of their kind. Way better than human school if you asked literally anyone.

Classes for How to Become a Siren were open to anyone who could sing and had the ability to charm the most closed off sailors, as well as Exploration, Creature Calling and Dealing With Humans. Seungmin had wanted to take a siren class before he realized he was the only boy and all the girls were way prettier than him. So he’d stuck with Creature Calling. He enjoyed learning about the thousands of different fish and mammals that lived in the region as well as farther out, and learning how to befriend them was quite the experience. But it wasn’t the same as singing.

The teacher, a middle aged mermaid entered and swam to the back of the cave, opposite side of the entrance.

A light stir in the water next to him and the soft sound of someone’s tail brushing against rock told Seungmin that Jisung had showed up, prompting him to offer a snack to his friend without hesitation.

“Class,” the teacher began, “I have an important announcement. We’ve received word from our protective forces that there have been significant advances made on the safety of our community,” she said. The cave fell silent, all except for the quiet bubbling and swishing of fish passing by.

“I’m sure you all remember how a few months ago there were... disturbing noises on the shore at the edge of the forest, for those of you who were taking night patrol classes, and how one of our own was taken from us. I’m here to inform you that we will be stepping up our security, as three more of our own have disappeared without a trace-” there was an audible gasp from the student body, everyone looking around frantically for a missing face, “-but fear not. We will have this under control but until we are given the all clear by our guards, you are to travel in pairs at the least. Is that understood?”

Everyone nodded and Seungmin felt himself shiver at the thought of his mother or Jisung disappearing from the face of the earth without a trace. He clung to his friend’s arm.

“I don’t believe I will be able to teach you all for a few days, as my partner was one who was taken,” the teacher said, voice steady but hands shaking, “I’m deeply sorry and I hope you all can understand this. Class is dismissed for the week, have a good evening and stay safe.”

She exited without another word, the silver tip of her tail disappearing from sight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i wear khaki shorts and pants to school when im feeling spiffy, call me a white boy but they make my legs and ass look good thanks akshbsab


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i mention a lot of members from other groups from here going on because im multifandom trash but also too lazy to come up with ocs. i also didn't tag them because they don't play too big of a role in the story
> 
>  
> 
> if you were wondering, i created this idea of giffins and humans all on my own and because my brain is in a constant state of anarchy, things might be difficult to understand sorry about that

The low angry caws coming from the cave on the far side of the mountain told him there was nothing but bad news. His enhanced night vision allowed him to navigate his way up the mountain at night but he could never forsee the mood that would be set in the cave.

“ _This is the second time one of those bitch ass fishies tried to drown us! We need to act,_ ” the voice of a griffin named Renjun spoke, low and rough.

“ _Injunie, we can’t just show aggression out of nowhere! We were the ones to act first, after all!_ ” A second voice, belonging to a griffin named Jeno Lee argued.

Renjun hissed with frustration. “ _Bullshit. Their acts of hostility pushed us over the edge, it was in self defense!_ ”

“ _It doesn’t make sense that they’d poison their own food though! And then proceed to lure our little ones to the water in an attempt to drown them… we haven’t disturbed the peace in any kind of way-_ ” Jeno was interrupted by a third voice that was Sanha’s.

“ _Our arrival was completely unannounced! I mean… until, uh, yeah, that happened-_ ”

“ _Right, right,_ ” Jeno continued, “ _So it doesn’t- it doesn’t make any sense! I think you just overreacted that one time, Injunie…_ ”

Jeongin entered, his bare, human feet padding quietly over the stone. Several pairs of brightly colored eyes focused on him and he offered a small smile.

“ _Oh, Jeongin_ ,” a new voice, belonging to Heejin, said, sounding relieved. She was mixed like him though held her griffin form like all of the others in the cave.

But her signs of weakening were becoming more obvious, as the winter solstice came nearer and she would have to enter the changing. The glow in her eyes became more noticeable in her human form and dulled in her griffin form, though the former condition didn’t apply to full blooded griffins who were unable to take a human form as easily as mixed griffins. Her feathers began to fall out and her wings weakened, as well as bare patches in her fur. Her claws and talons became softer and soon she wouldn’t have the energy to wake up and would lay unmoving, barely breathing and in immense pain as her entire body broke down to be built back up, stronger, bigger and better. A complicated process, honestly, but essentially the human equivalent of puberty, just all at once.

Jeongin understood it though, he kind of _had_ to, and having lived with the ragtag group for about a year now, he’d seen many go through the changing. Particularly, he remembered both Sanah and Renjun going through the changing at the same time because theirs was particularly intense, having been born basically on the day of the spring equinox . Jeongin would be lying if he said he was looking forward to it.

“Heejin,” he greeted, bowing. “Are you well?”

She let out a weird hacking sort of crow, similar to a snort probably. “ _What does it look like?_ ”

“ _Anyways,_ ” Renjun continued, still very vehement about the topic they were debating, “ _There’s no way I’m letting them off for targeting us a second time_.”

“ _You didn’t let them off the first time_ ,” Jaemin pointed out, speaking for the first time. He padded over, his deep sapphire blue eyes glowing in the darkness of the cave and his long talons scraping the stone. He circled around Jeongin, tiny in his human form compared to the full grown griffins, and laid a wing over the boy. Jeongin let himself be pulled into the griffin’s body and nuzzled into the soft feathers that covered Jaemin’s neck. “ _I think the entire town heard you screeching at that one fish lady_.”

Fishlady? What the fuck…? Jeongin thought.

“What are they arguing about?” Jeongin whispered to Jaemin, carding his fingers through the soft feathers. The sounds of Jeno and Renjun arguing rang through the cave, some others chiming in every now and then.

“ _Eric_   _was injured by the base of the mountain when he went to find fish_ …” Jaemin whispered, nodding towards the pair of soft lavender eyes gazing with worry at the bickering couple. “ _When Renjun and Sanha found him… he- there were deep cuts all over his body and his fur was dried with salt water… Eric said he didn’t see his attacker but there was splashing and other noises from the water_ …”

“And that was enough to set Renjun off,” Jeongin finished and Jaemin nodded. He had no idea what could’ve possibly hurt Chenle, but apparently there were hostile creatures in the water.

“ _You’re impossible!_ ” Renjun shrieked, silencing everyone in the cave. All eyes turned to him and Jeno, who’d been staring the other down. Renjun stalked out of the cave and took to the air, screeching loudly into the night.

The silence in the cave was suffocating.

“ _Jeno_ ,” Shuhua spoke softly from the darkness, “ _what happened?_ ”

“ _He- did you guys know he murdered three others?!_ ” Jeno seethed, whipping around to face everyone. Jeongin clung tighter to Jaemin, who cooed softly in his ear. Renjun was no murderer. He would kill to protect his friends, but the word murderer seemed too strong to describe that.

No one met Jeno’s gaze, normally a soft, sparkling teal but now piercing, sharp and freezing.

“ _It wasn’t just him_ ,” a meek voice spoke up. All eyes turned to Sanha. “ _I-I agreed_ …”

“ _You agreed to killing three innocent fishpeople!?_ ” A griffin, named Lee Chan, exclaimed, eyes stretched wide. Now it was ‘fishpeople’? Jeongin had never heard of such a thing.

“ _No, no, no_ ,” Sanha quickly corrected, “ _I- we only meant to scare them… but the people fish, or fishpeople, are apparently very delicate_ …”

Jeno didn’t say a word. No one said a word. The silence stretched on for what felt like hours, Jaemin’s wing held Jeongin close and others shuffled closer to their own friends.

A loud cry rang out side of the cave. The sound of something heavy landing on the side of the mountain resonated in the cave and something began clawing its way over the rock.

“ _Get back_ ,” Jaemin ordered, shoving Jeongin further into the darkness, joining Heejin. Jaemin took up a defencive position, wings open and guarding the weaker ones. Jeno tensed and crept towards the entrance, ready to pounce. Other shadows stalked forward, wings raised and muscles tensed.

Renjun’s battle cry pierced the night, and he swooped down, attacking the shadow. Renjun screeched, his body tumbling down the mountain. Oh shit.

“ _Renjun!_ ” Jeno leapt forward without hesitation, only to be pinned down by their attacker. Jeongin’s view was blocked by Jaemin and he huddled closer to Heejin.

Others lept to Jeno’s defence and the sounds of claws scraping rock, piercing cries, and the sounds of wings flapping frantically drowned out Jeongin’s thoughts. The group of young, runaways often experienced threats but this time it felt different. They were used to facing off against a pack of wolves, a savage dog, or sometimes even a bear but Jeongin suspected the attacker was none of the above.

Jeno cried out in pain, and the shadows of two more figures washed over the floor of the cave.

The sounds of fighting stopped and Jeongin peeked through Jaemin’s legs. Jeno was trapped under a large beast, along with a couple others and many had been thrown against the wall of the cave.

“ _Now that I have your attention_ ,” a deep, resonating caw said, making Jeongin’s blood run cold, “ _we just want to talk_.”

Jaemin backed up, flanked by Sanha to try and hide their weakest. The huge figure noticed.

“ _I want to see_  everyone,” they demanded. Jaemin refused to give in that simply.

“ _What do you want from us?_ ” He spat instead.

The attacker laughed, followed by a light chorus of his companion’s laughter. “ _You’re in no position to be asking such a question_.” The sound of sharp talons sharpening on the rock made Jeongin quiver with fear.

“ _Now_ ,” the attacker said, “ _tell me, which one of you is the head, hm?_ ”

“ _We have no leader_ ,” Sanha spoke up, determined and defiant.

The attacker inhaled deeply. “ _I smell human blood in many of you_ …”

“ _What do you want?_ ” One of their eldest members, Wendy spoke up. She dragged her body up from the floor and stood to face the others.

“ _We want perfection_ ,” the attacker explained simply, “ _in our colony. There are members who serve absolutely no purpose, like you all,_ ” he scoffed, making Jaemin’s talons scrape against the stone, “ _and_   _they’re dead weight. You will keep them with you, and you will not allow them to follow me back to my home. They will die alone, understood?_ ”

Jeno’s wings flapped uselessly in protest, and the attacker’s claws sunk deeper into his shoulder. He cried, twisting and spazzing as the claws slowly raked down his body.

“ _It’s not a request, it’s an order_ ,” the attacker threatened. Jeno’s cries became louder to the point that they were deafening and made Jeongin’s heart break. “ _But I need your word that you will kill them or keep them here, until they die._ ”

“Say yes, say yes,” Jeongin begged Jaemin, tugging on the older’s tail to get his attention.

“ _Okay!_ ” Wendy blurted at once after hearing impossibly louder cries rip from her friend's throat, “ _Let him go!_ ” The attacker’s claws unhooked from Jeno’s tattered, bloodied flesh and they sat back on their haunches. Their companions released the other griffins they held and the soft sound of sniffling and heavy breathing filled the cave.

Wendy rushed to Jeno’s side, nuzzling into his feathers to comfort him.

“ _Bring them,_ ” the attacker ordered. Two more pairs of wings beat in the air and large shadows blocked out the moonlight.

Two figures were carelessly tossed onto the stone with a hard thud. Then the attackers jumped back into the air, carried off by the wind while screeching menacingly into the sky.

Jeno’s screeches morphed into human cries, signaling he’d switched form to accommodate the pain and injuries. He cried loudly and some others switched their form, simply because their mixed form was more comfortable to maintain.

Jaemin’s huge body shrunk into his half human form and he ran to Jeno’s side, cradling his injured friend.

Jeongin rose to his feet, knees shaky, and retrieved the sack of healing herbs they kept to tend to wounds. Good thing he didn’t have school tomorrow.

 

Seungmin lazily flicked his tail, swimming closer to the surface than he probably should but he loved the way his scales looked in the moonlight so much that he couldn’t find it in him to care. Jisung was nearby, looking for rocks by the shore to help keep his kelp mattress from floating away again.

That’s when he heard a loud, blood curdling screech. Even though it was clearly from the land, he whipped his head around to look for any sign of danger approaching. Jisung was by his side in and instant and they stayed perfectly still, waiting.

Nothing else happened.

“Jisung, please hurry up!” Seungmin urged, nervous of what could be prowling on the land.

“Okay, okay, don’t worry! It was probably just an owl,” his friend reassured, swimming back towards the shore.

“Owls don’t sound like that, dipshit!” Seungmin hissed. He swam after Jisung, who was way too close to the shore for comfort.

“Could’ve been a screech owl,” his friend shrugged, seeming to not be bothered in the slightest.

Seungmin poked his head above the water at the exact moment a second screech, louder and larger sounding, rang through the air. He ducked back under the surface, speeding towards Jisung and yanking on his arm.

“We’re leaving, now,” he ordered. Jisung was too scared to move, frozen in place. Just then, a large, dark shadow flew over the water. The two merboys froze, not daring to breathe or blink. They could hear the heavy beating of wings, so strong it made the water stir.

A moment later, a loud shriek sounded, followed by dozens of others. If Seungmin had to guess, a fight of sorts had broken out. Suddenly, a pair of unnaturally large talons plunged into the water, closing in on him and Jisung.

Seungmin screamed and darted deep down, twisting around to find them gone and a very shaken up Jisung.

“Land, land is a better option,” Jisung decided. At least then their homes would only be a couple minutes walk away as opposed to a fifteen minute swim.

The propelled themselves from the water, flopping unceremoniously onto the soft, cold sand. Seungmin scrambled to sit, waiting for the familiar tingly feeling in his tail to spread and melt into legs. Once transformed, he ran along the shore, flicking his wrist in tiny movements to detect their marked rocks. They quickly dressed, shoving on their shoes and darted into the forest.

The angry cries were distant, less so on land, but still far away. Seungmin looked around, straining his ears to try and find the source. His eyes landed on one of the small mountains that fenced off the forest from other towns. There were shadows, though hard to detect even with enhanced vision, but there were shadows snaking up the side of one of the mountains.

“Dude,” Jisung whispered, “you can’t possibly be thinking of going up there.”

Seungmin ignored his friend, feeling an odd pull in his chest. He shouldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“I’m going,” he said, jogging off without another word.

His dumbass self, apparently, would.

“Seungmin!” Jisung called after him. It was useless, Seungmin had blocked out the world, letting the pull in his chest lead him.

He was at the base of the mountain, contemplating how to scale it, when a huge shadow in the brush moved. He lept back, eyes wide and heart racing.

A huge beast emerged, perhaps the size of a lion. It was bloodied and bruised, and seemed distraught. Suddenly, it turned it’s head and locked eyes with Seungmin, whose heart stopped.

Seungmin backed away slowly, hands up to show he meant no harm. The creature stepped forward, now washed in the light of the moon and revealed the head of an eagle. A huge, magnificent pair of wings opened slowly, spreading out to the beast’s sides. It’s sharp beak glinted in the moonlight and it’s lower half emerged to show the hind legs and tail of a lion.

But it was it’s eyes that surprised Seungmin. It was the glowing, galactic maroon eyes, staring through the leaves that drew him in. He’d seen those kinds of eyes before. He knew that creature.

The name that left his lips was barely a breath, but spoke volumes and caused hundreds of feelings and images to come crashing down on him.

“Yang.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is absolute shit im so sorry you read through that.


	6. Chapter 6

Jeongin helped Jeno lay in a nest of branches and grasses, lined with discarded feathers and soft moss. He’d patched the boy up as best as possible and could only wait and hope an infection didn’t set in.

The others who’d fought were doing better, many had switched back to their full griffin forms, as it was safer. But a few walked as people with their wings just brushing the floor of the cramped cave.

“I’m going to find Renjun,” Jaemin declared, walking up to Jeongin and patting his head. Jeongin turned to find Jaemin in his half human form. Jeongin nodded, turning back to Jeno. Jaemin paused and knelt down next to his friend, taking a hand in his.

“You fought so bravely, Jeno,” he whispered, brushing hair off Jeno’s forehead, “heal quickly for me, okay?”

 Jeno’s eyes fluttered open and he gave a weak smile. Jaemin leaned in, planting a soft kiss on his temple and slowly stood back up to exit.

Jeongin laid down on the hard, cold stone, using his satchel as a pillow. The two outcasts remained untouched, as it wasn’t clear if they were dead or just unconscious. Either way, no one was ready to deal with two griffins who’d been cast from their home in shame.

His eyes were suddenly heavy, perhaps from the incredible stress he’d been under for his tests and then having to stay after to work on plans for a set to be used after break, not to mention getting brutally attacked. The violence wasn’t necessary, but that’s one’s natural reaction, to fight back when they’re threatened and when there’s no place to run.

He closed his eyes, mind wandering to warm sunsets on a beach with a hand in his. His hand slid to the twine around his neck and pulled the locket from his shirt, holding it close to his heart as he drifted off to sleep.

He’d find his friend again one day.

 

*FLASHBACK*

//”Min! Minnie, where are you?” A very youthful and prepubescent voice called out to him. He was hiding right behind a barnacle splattered rock, trying not to make a sound. He wanted to surprise his good friend.

The sound of Yang’s talons lightly scraped over the rocks and his wings coule be heart rustling in the wind. Seungmin crept around, catching a glimpse of the beast, and put himself in position to jump out onto the other’s back.

In a second, he heaved himself up from the water and with a mightly leap, soared over the rocks and landed splat on Yang’s body.

The younger let out a startled shriek, twisting around to get a glimpse of his attacker. His body relaxed though at the sight of his friend and he let out a little giggle at the sight of Seungmin draped over his back, tail twitching cutely.

“You scared me!” Yang exclaimed, still laughing as he gently lowered Seungmin from his back.

“That was the goal,” the merboy said matter-of-fairly. “Yang, it’s my birthday soon! I even asked my dad for the right day  and I want to do something with you!” He told his friend.

The griffin paused and nodded, thinking. “Okay. What do you wanna do?”

“Can we go into town? Just you and me? And we can get ice cream and cake!! It would be so much fun, and then we can come back and play on the beach!” Seungmin rambled happily.

Yang seemed to freeze up a bit, contemplating his options. “I-I…”

“Pleeaaaasseee!~”

Yang caved. “Okay, anything for you Min,” he’d said, eyes curving up into crescents to reflect the wide smile on his face.

The day came and they met by the rocks again. Seungmin sat in an oversized blue t-shirt, watching the water sparkle between his legs. Then he saw another person approaching and his face lit up.

Yang’s human form was very similar to his griffin form, but he was a bit smaller and had no wings. An old looking shirt hung off his skinny body and a wide grin was plastered on his face.

“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to change,” he explained when he reached Seungmin, “because it can be hard switching forms now that I’m getting older. At least that’s what my sister told me.”

Seungmin nodded understandingly. “It’s getting harder for me to maintain my tail while on land, usually I have a bit of control over how slow or fast it changes but lately it’s been just doing it’s own thing…”

Yang shrugged. “I guess it happens when you get older. But enough about this, I was able to change for you so let’s make the most of it!”

If they stole some clothes from the Marshall’s downtown, sprinting salt and laughing loudly with each other, no one needed to know. And if they held hands while walking through the crowded street, only to clutch tighter when they were alone, no one needed to know. And if they got a single milkshake to share, sipping it while holding each other's gazes in a friendly competition, no one needed to know. And if at the end of the day, Yang kissed Min on the cheek as a present that left the merboy reeling for day, no one needed to know.//

 

 

The griffin stared Seungmin down, a low threatening, gurgling noise emitting from it’s throat. He gulped and backed away, pushing everything he’d remembered about Yang to the back of his mind to focus on not getting killed.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said, still backing away as the creature stared at him, “I-I just needed to, uh, to know if- if you were an owl.” He wanted to smash his head against a rock. How much stupider could he sound? “I didn’t mean to bother you…” The griffin’s gaze darted to something behind him and it sank down into the brush, becoming virtually invisible in the shadows.

A hand fell on his shoulder, gripping tightly. He was spun around harshly and a fist connected with his jaw. Pain bloomed in his cheek as his head snapped to his right and hands pinned his arms to his sides, lifting him so his toes barely missed the ground.

There was the sound of feathers ruffling and suddenly a huge pair of wings were in his face. He blinked to clear the tears from his eyes and found the face of a boy staring back at him. His hair was colored a caramel brown, like the highlights on his feathers, and it flopped messilyinto his sharp, sapphire blue eyes that gleamed in the moonlight.

Seungmin kicked, struggling to get free. He called upon his enhanced strength, wrenching his arms free to wrap and lock them around the boy’s upper body, since he most defiantly didn’t tust the boy to not drop him.

The boy beat his wings, lifting them off the ground. It was clearly a bit of a struggle, with a whole other person to carry, but they rose approximately twenty feet into the air.

...

Maybe not twenty, but it definitely felt like the ground was miles away.

“Hey!” A shout from the ground cut through the loud wooshing of the boy’s wings flapping. Seungmin didn’t need to look down to know it was Jisung, not that you could’ve paid him to look down. Despite his dreams of flying freely on the wind, he was deathly terrified of heights.

The flying boy saw Jisung and narrowed his eyes, glancing back to the brush the griffin had been in.

 _That makes sense that they know each other…_ Seungmin thought, remembering how Yang had both a half human and full griffin form.

He was suddenly shaken off from the boy, and plummeted to the ground. He screamed, flailing his arms and legs uselessly. The flying boy watched for a minute with a smirk before swooping down and catching him in his arms.

Seungmin was dropped onto the ground and he felt all the air in his lungs leave. A sharp pain in his shoulder made him groan when he tried to roll over.

The griffin stepped out of the shadows and approached the flying boy who planted a foot on Seungmin’s chest, not taking his eyes off of Jisung.

The griffin cawed at the boy, nodding between Seungmin and Jisung. Now, Seungmin knew when a bitch was mad, but this wasn’t no bitch. The griffin was unreadable as it rambled, not even sparing Seungmin a glance. It had no reason to be mad, right? Should he be worried?

He craned his neck and saw Jisung with his fists up but eyes stretched wide with terror.

“Fine,” the winged boy said, removing his foot and stepping back. Seungmin sat up, coughing and Jisung cautiously waddled forward, looking for any signs of anger from the people. No, scratch that, mythical beasts would be better fitting since these clearly weren’t people.

He helped Seungmin stand and together they stood, each pair staring warily at the other two.

“What are you two doing?” The winged boy asked. His voice was very deep and only now was Seungmin getting to see the lean muscles all over his arms, shoulders and exposed torso. He wore sports shorts but no shoes, which made sense since the kid probably flew everywhere.

“Each other,” Seungmin muttered under his breath, cracking a small smile at his wildly inappropriate and unnecessary joke.

“ _We_ ,” Jisung cut in, trying to cover up Seungmin’s stupid joke, “were just headed home, right?” Jisung jabbed an elbow into Seungmin’s ribs, probably as payback for the joke or to prompt him to play along. 

“Yeah,” Seungmin coughed, looking up to find the winged boy staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Jisung slowly began to back away, pulling Seungmin with him but stopped when the winged boy narrowed his eyes.

“Hold up, how do I know you’re not gonna go back to the town and blab about this encounter?”

“Because I’m a hermit with fake friends and a family that cares more about money than their children,” Seungmin deadpanned, slapping a hand over his mouth an instant later.

“ _He_   _means_ ,” Jisung cleared his throat, glaring at Seungmin, “we have nothing to gain from _blabbing_ to the townsfolk that a couple of mythical creatures have taken residence in the mountain, on the other side of the, already rumored to be, haunted forest.”

“They’re griffins, Jisung,” Seungmin hissed. Jisung’s clenched jaw twitched but he didn’t acknowledge his friend’s comment. Not until the winged boy blinked an furrowed his brow.

“What makes you think we’re griffins?” The winged boy questioned, getting defensive.

“What the fuck makes you think I said that?” Seungmin shot back, heart jumping into his throat. Of course the already supernatural by would have some super sonic heading or something .

“I have an excellent sense of hearing,” the boy said shortly, “now, swear on your life that you won’t tell a soul.”

“You’d have a better chance of me keeping my mouth shut if you told me to swear on my Verizon 4G LTE data but alrighty,” Seungmin muttered to himself, unable to stop his mouth before remembering this bitch had supersonic hearing or something.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Jisung hurriedly apologized, “he gets mouthy when he’s tired- well, actually more mouthy than normal but we swear never to tell a soul. We’d never intentionally take someone’s home from them.”

Before the winged boy could approve, Jisung bolted, dragging Seungmin with him, back into the forest. They didn’t stop sprinting until the trees began to thin and they could hear the sounds of the sea nearby.

They broke from the woods and stumbled down the shore, reaching the water’s edge and crouching behind some rocks. They stripped off their shirts and kicked off their shoes. Then they crawled into the freezing night water, biting back yelps of shock as they slowly slithered into the water.

They raced, full fledged tail swishing, making it back to their reef and darting inside of their homes, no goodbye needed. Seungmin’s increased lung capacity helped, but he still found himself gasping for air after the strenuous exercise. His mother hadn't returned yet from her escapade, so he had no reason try and keep quiet or sneak around.

Seungmin settled down, finally able to breathe normally again and feel an emotion other than fear. He really needed to sleep off his bitchier than usual attitude.

...

Or he could contemplate a long lost friendship and several other conspiracy theories.

Seungmin really wanted to slap himself for letting Yang slip from his memories. He recounted their first few times meeting and his guy twisted, not in a sickening way but more of a regretful way. The boy had been so kind and reassuring, it warmed his heart and made him want to be friends. He’d been horrified to find the young boy with his foot in a fox trap, and nervous about accidentally amputating it. But he was thankful for it, because it had brought them closer and bridged them from acquaintances to friends. Seungmin would be lying if he said he hadn't found himself falling for those arctic blue eyes a little more every time they met. And he recalled how he could just comb his fingers over the soft, sleek feathers.

He shot up in bed and darted around the room, searching frantically for the small chest he and his mother kept their valuables in. He fumbled around, eyes raking through small decorative stones and brushing snails off of any box he saw to check it’s contents.

His fingers finally closed around a cube shaped box and he pulled it out from the hole in the wall they called a cabinet.

He opened it, struggling a little due to the shaking in his hands, and found a single, long feather. Ebony with smokey strokes of fog dancing over the fibers, the fringe dipped in pure, clean snow white powder. The feather Yang had entrusted to him, as a keepsake. As a trade for his scale. He couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to forget. Oh wow, his scale.

He was determined to find Yang now, and he knew where to start.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> losing motivation with this... might discontinue and pick it up again another time?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> terribly sorry to anyone who reads this still :/

There were loud, pain filled screams echoing off the stone walls of the cave when he’d hiked up the mountain that chilled his blood. His first guess was an invasion until he remembered: Felix.

He tentatively peaked in, confirming his suspicions once he saw the poor boy, still in his mixed form, wildly thrashing about in his hastily constructed bed. He saw Changbin by the boy’s side, not like he ever left it these days though, holding Felix’s hand and cradling his head to protect him from hurting himself.

Jeongin tiptoed over to the corner where Jeno and Renjun were curled up next to each other in their mixed forms, gazing with concern in their eyes at the poor boy. He slipped into the nest beside them, pressing himself up against Renjun.

“I guess Felix finally entered the changing?” He asked. Renjun nodded.

“I personally can’t remember much that happened during it, but I don’t think I screamed that loud,” he muttered. “It must be the stress of having been delayed months at this point.”

An fourth body joined them, fleshy and not very griffin like.

“Renjun-ge, does it hurt that much?” Chenle whispered, voice trembling.

Renjun pulled Chenle close to him, wrapping the child in his arms. “No, no, no, we’ll all be here for you so you won’t have to go through something as terrible as Felix did. Don’t you worry,” he assured softly, looking up to meet Jeongin’s eyes, “and you too.”

The night was rough. It had been bad enough when sometimes three of his friends were going through the changing at the same time, and no one had really slept for the whole week. But poor Felix was probably experiencing it ten fold. His sobs bounced off the rock and his wails haunted Jeongin’s dreams. But he couldn’t complain, not when Felix was the one experiencing it.

The rest of the weekend was Jeongin hanging around the cave, fixing up nests and attempting to give Changbin food and offer to take his spot watching Felix. THe new boy seemed incredibly cautious and even a little paranoid, immediately jumping to a fighting stance and snarling at them whenever someone approached too close, even if it was to give him water and food. He’d only accept it after they repeatedly insisted he take it, placed it down on the ground, and reminded him that Felix needed him alive. But he’d never take anyone up on their offer to help him care for Felix.

Usually, members of the colony take turns watching, feeding and caring for those going through the changing. But Changbin was determined to do it himself. It might’ve sounded a bit childish, had Jeongin not known his story. But he did feel sorry that Changbin seemed to never sleep or eat for the entire time, nor get up to stretch his limbs. It was like he was worried they’d take Felix away from him if he left his side, like his last colony had.

It was probably close to midnight when Jeongin returned from soaking rags in the stream that bubbled through the forest for Changbin to drink from and to cool Felix with (Eric had broken their only bowl) and he expected Changbin to be asleep. It was Sunday, three days since Felix began the changing. Only four more days left to go at most, during three of which Felix would hopefully be knocked out and allow Changbin a moment of reprieve. There was shrieking from the cave and blubbering sobs when he returned, which Jeongin had strangely become accustomed to again.

Changbin was not asleep. Not really a surprise to Jeongin though. He carefully made his way over, trying not to let all of the water drip from the cloth before he could give it to changbin, and placed it down, about five feet away from the tensed up boy. It was the only way they were able to give Changbin food and water without him going bonkers.

Changbin jumped at the moment Jeongin’s stretched shadow entered his peripheral when he’d reached back down to push it closer. But he didn’t react as strongly. He stared with wide eyes at Jeongin, waiting for him to possibly lunge at him or Felix. But he never did. He backed away, hands where he could see them, and scuttled over to his spot near Kevin. He peeked out from the edge of the nest and saw Changbin crawling over to the bundle of cloth and bringing it back to Felix. He drank from it, lapping eagerly, letting Jeongin rest in peace.

 

——————

 

The rain gently pitter-pattered against the window of the classroom. It wasn’t anything too heavy but enough to mist the air. Seungmin sat alone in homeroom; Jeongin was late, again. Or just not showing up for the third week in a row. He sighed and doodled in his notebook, not even registering his teacher’s words about midterms.

Shit.

Why the fuck were they talking about midterms at this time? It was mid December, Jesus Christ. He had at least another month before he would absolutely _have_  to start thinking about them. It’s not like he needed to ace them, like he had for the past three years. He’d applied to college, only because his father wanted him to, and was probably going to get in. Not that he wanted to go. No one in their right mind would willingly go away, pay tens of thousands of dollars to spend even more time sitting and listening to a teacher drone about maths, when they could go to a different world and live happily without ever having to study such useless topics. That was his rant for today, thanks for listening.

Homeroom ended, thankfully ending with the teacher forgetting to take attendance, and Seungmin scuttled out as fast as humanly possible. His next six classes were a blur and he was losing his mind by the time he didn’t see Jeongin by their usual spot under the staircase. He was already planning on skipping school that day and a couple of classes cut couldn’t hurt right? But he made sure to drop off his homework in his teachers’ offices just in case.

In the end he hadn’t the faintest idea as to what came over him and compelled him to leave the building, maybe it was his craving to see that brighter than the sun smile, or maybe it was the addictive fluttery feeling he got in his stomach when the other laughed. Either way, he’d been deprived and needed to satisfy his craving.

He sprinted off of school grounds, eager to get away and thankful to have the excuse of worrying about his friend. He sprinted down the streets, backpack jostling on his shoulders and unbuttoned flannel whipping at his sides. He threw his backpack down, flicking his wrist and burying it in the sand on the shore before taking off again towards Jeongin’s house.

It looked empty when he peeked through the windows so he wasn’t surprised when no one answered his knock.

“Jeongin? Are you in there?” He called, pressing his ear against the door to listen for even the quietest noise.

Nothing.

He tried again but still nothing. He walked around to the back and found soggy, muddy tracks leading into the woods. But they didn’t look quite human. They were large, almost dinosaur like with an even mix of what could be a hella big dog. But Seungmin wasn’t stupid enough to forget twice. “Shit, did the griffins start going for humans too?”

He ran through the rain, following the muddy tracks with determination unlike any other. He ignored how his feet sank into the soft, squishy earth and how the rain-heavy leaves slapped his face when he tore through the forest. He ignored that his father might come home and punish him and that he might have to try and explain it to his disappointed grandparents.

He was out of breath from his run when the tracks ended at the edge of the forest, at the base of the mountain. He took deep breaths, hands on his knees as he tried to figure out what to do. From above, a loud caw came. Not like that of a crow, but sounding more like a prehistoric bird, you know, the kinds that were probably like six feet tall and massive.

He looked up to find the bird and saw three huge dark figures circling in the air above him.

Griffins.

The descended and though the rain falling in his face blurred his vision, he would bet money that their eyes were focused on him. What he didn’t think, was that they would suddenly swoop down and try to sink their claws into his soft, squishy human flesh.

They descended in a line, one after the other, right at Seungmin. Just as the first was enclosing, he dropped to the ground, pressing his face and stomach into the mud. He quickly rolled to the side, avoiding the second one’s talons and scrambled backwards, avoiding the third. He got to his feet and whipped around, finding all three hovering in the air right behind him. His eyes widened when he recognized a pair of galactic, maroon eyes.

He stood his ground as they lowered themselves, folding their wings away and stalking towards him. The familiar maroon eyed one cawed loudly to it’s friends, nodding towards Seungmin as it did. The other two narrowed their own uniquely colored eyes at him, not looking too pleased.

“Speak,” the maroon eyed one commanded.

“Holy fuck!”

It screeched, obviously displeased with his response, making Seungmin jump out of his skin and begin to quiver. “Why are you here?”

He swallowed thickly, pushing his wet bangs that were plastered to his forehead out of his eyes. “I-I was looking for my friend,” he explained, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. When you’re in the presence of lion sized griffins that could shred you to bits, it’s not uncommon to feel absolutely fucking terrified.

“I-I f-followed some t-tr-tracks here…”

“Who is your claimed-to-be friend?” Another shouted at him. It was hella weird hearing human like voices coming from such a not-human animal. Yet he got a weird sense of deja vu... 

“J-Jeongin, he didn’t show up at school today, and hasn’t for the past three weeks so I wanted to check on him but he wasn’t home,” Seungmin tried to explain. The three beasts looked thoughtful.

“We don’t know a Jeongin,” the other one said.

“Bullshit!” Seungmin shouted before he could stop himself. “I found your weird ass dinosaur-y slash lion-y tracks leading from the back of his house! That’s how I fucking ended up here! I’m not here to hunt you down and display your heads as a prize or whatever, I’m trying to see if my friend is okay damnit!”

The three looked slightly taken aback by his spontaneous outburst but quickly composed themselves. “You should leave, your friend is not here.”

Seungmin opened his mouth to argue.

“Or we will make you leave.”

Seungmin shut his mouth and scooted away as fast as possible.

 

——————

 

Renjun returned from patrol with Jihyo and Kevin, stalking towards Jeongin. He morphed quickly into his mixed form, hair dripping wet and shorts and chest soaked. He gave his wings a couple of quick shakes to rid them of the water clinging to his feathers and towered over Jeongin who was curled up on the floor, staring at the wall.

“Jeongin,” Renjun said, sounding very stern, “you didn’t tell us you were supposed to be at school today. Or for the past three weeks.”

The boy slowly rolled over and sat up, looking into Renjun’s eyes. He sighed. “I… just didn’t feel like going today,” he mumbled. “I, uh, thought it would be better if I stayed here for the week while Felix is changing.” Only a half-lie. While it wasn’t his main reason, it was definitely better for everyone if he stuck around to help out while they got prepared for winter. The winter was supposed to be less brutal in this area, soft snowfalls far and few between at most.

Felix had been in a sleep like coma for nearly a month now and everyone was incredibly stressed, _especially_ Changbin. At first, they’d welcomed the absence of pained screams and cries all throughout the night, but after five nights, everyone began to worry. Wendy tried to reason that it must be his body trying to catch up but no one was really sure. His heartbeat was steady and he was breathing well, but his body was in terrible condition. You could see his human skeleton through the skin that loosely hung off of his bones, and his wings had become frail and stiff at his sides. Jeongin had woke multiple times during the night to Changbin’s soft, muffled sobs, crying to Felix to come back to him. Crying for him to wake up.

“Hmmm, well I heard from a little boy that you didn’t show up today. You’re lucky to have good friends but something will have to change, I’m sure you know that though.” That implied for him to cut all ties for the rest of the year.

“Renjun! That’s for the rest of the school year though!” He cried. “Who did you even talk with, anyway?”

Renjun tensed up. “I’ve seen him before, the night Felix and Changbin were dropped off-”

“The weird boy and his friend? The kids with soaked hair? And the dirty mouth?” Jaemin exclaimed from next to Juyeon. Renjun nodded. “Shit!”

“What? Who?” Jeongin asked, looking between his friends with curiosity.

“Oh! His, uh, his name was, uh, hang on a minute…” Jaemin said, knitting his brows tightly and beginning to pace. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

“Jaemin, I don’t think he ever gave us his name but his friend’s name was like, J-... Jinsung or something,” Renjun said.

Jeongin’s eyebrow shot up. He didn’t know anyone in the school named Jinsung.

“Right…”

“Either way, you’ll know when you go back tomorrow because he’ll probably say, ‘damn dude, I thought you got eaten by some griffins!’ and then you’re going to have to pretend to not know what a griffin is, okay?” Renjun explained in an annoyingly uppity tone of voice, turning without waiting for a response and settling down next to Jeno, who was now fully recovered from the attack and had just returned from a hunting mission.

Jeongin massaged his temples. He didn’t want to have to see anyone from school again. When he was there, it felt like he was being unloyal to Min. Like he should be spending his time searching for his friend to reconnect, which he had intended to do all the time he’d been gone but couldn’t find a good enough excuse to leave the cave and sit by the sea, alone.

He opened his locket, removing the shimmering scale. He hadn’t seen it in so long, afraid that if he took it out he might lose it or have to explain to the others what it was and not sound crazy, talking about fishpeople.

Fishpeople was such a stupid word in Jeongin's opinion. Like, it gets the point across but they're literlly not just a 'hybrid'. He thought the words 'mermaid,' 'merboy,' and 'merfolk' fit them better but uneducated people would likely resort to calling them 'fishpeople.'

 

wait....

 

…

Shit.

 

His mind was thrown back to the night they were attacked, but to the argument that had taken place before. About Renjun killing fish people. About Chenle getting ambushed and left to die on the shore.

// _“You agreed to killing three innocent fish people?” Another griffin by the name of Lee Chan asked._ //

Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

On cue, Wendy returned with a small group of others bound hung across the cave to the back and retrieving the medical supplies. She shifted with ease, kneeling next to a figure sprawled out at the entrance.

It was Shuaha, soaked in her own blood and rainwater. Everyone gasped and began bustling about, complying with the orders barked at all of them to help their friend.

“What happened?” Renjun gasped, racing over with quilts to try and dry her off.

“The ocean creatures... we were just headed back across from the town, and out of nowhere two of them shot up from the water, clinging onto her. She got pulled down, into the water and they tried to drown her,” Wendy growled, eyes burning with hatred.

“They shouted something about ‘attacking one of their own’ and that they were ‘showing mercy’ by trying to drown her. But when we got involved, they pulled out their fancy forks and swords.”

Renjun was seething. His wings were trembling and his knuckles white from gripping the fabric in his hands. “And to think we might’ve been able to live in peace for some time.”

Jeongin was appalled and still trying to bounce back from his realization of what was actually going on.

The hustle and bustle of griffins leaving in patrols to search the area and others shifting nests and rustling around for healing products seemed to disconcert Changbin tucked away in the corner with his Felix and he snarled at anyone who forgot about the invisible line that wasn’t supposed to be crossed. Jeongin was almost envious of Felix, being able to sleep through it all.

“We need to start to formulate a plan and show these bitches their place,” Sanha declared, to which no one objected. Many voices and sounds filled the cave, drowning out the thunder and rain and making Jeongin’s heart hammer in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it'll be a while until the next update, i need more structure in this so i'll probably revise what i have written and attempt to seemlessly integrate it into the already written part T-T 
> 
> ajdfkssdka this is probably why i never really wrote full on stories ugh stress


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry to anyone still reading this, this entire thing is a huge mess...  
> enjoy!

He sat alone, twirling his pencil over his fingers. The leaves abandoning their trees and fluttering to the ground wasn’t enough of a distraction to tune out his teacher’s drawling but it was a distraction nonetheless. A distraction from the silent empty seat next to him. Had he done something wrong? Did Jeongin suddenly hate him? Was he in trouble? Was he going through something? He felt as if he’d done something terribly wrong. Only then, when he was hurting badly, did he realize how much of his heart he’d given up to his new friend.

 

He sat alone, gripping the slippery rock with his fingers and letting the crisp wind whisk through his hair and cause his eyes to sting a tad. He’d needed to get away from all the voices about fish blood and human guts to paint the walls of the cave. No, griffins weren't normally this ‘savage’ but when one of their own is harmed, they go hard. He sat for the whole day, waiting until the sun dipped into the water. But he was alone for the entire time.

 

**********************

 

  
It was early, early in the morning and the moon was preparing to make it’s exit from the night sky. Cool autumn air filled the room of bodies, some sleeping while others paced quietly about. Changbin shifted himself to block the cold winds from hitting Felix directly, like a buffer.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he pulled his wigs closer to his body, using them like a blanket for both of them. Felix had been showing signs of having completely transitioned for about a week now; his cheeks had filled out to a much healthier shape than the hollow craters they were before and the hair on his head had turned from thin and coarse to thick and soft. His wings had once held all feathers tightly locked in place, but after he’d started changing and was unable to find a safe haven, he’d begun to loose them and Changbin had worried he might not be able to transition fully. But they appeared to have regrown to their fully, fluffy volume during his time in the changing.

And just the sight of him was enough for Changbin to fall even harder for his best friend. God, just how his skin was now healthy and taught over his developed muscles instead of bruised and hanging off his bones was such a sight for sore eyes. It was kinda weird, how Chanbin had first met him as the small boy with squishy flesh and a radiant smile and after the changing he’d… well, _changed_  so much. But he was still the soft, squishy child with a radiant smile that Changbin lived to see everyday. Just... bigger, buffer and more attractive.

The sun peeked over the horizon, washing the mountain in a warm, honey glow. Changbin glanced around, not seeing any eyes watching him, and proceeded to tenderly place his dry lips against Felix’s soft temple. He patted the sleeping boy’s hair and pulled back, admiring his peaceful expression.

It started with a nearly undetectable twitch in his eyelid that Changbin dismissed as his own imagination. But then his nose twitched, more noticeably, and scrunched up with his eyes. Changbin couldn’t hear anything above the thundering of his heart as he watched Felix slowly pry his eyelids open, eyelashes fluttering softly and nose scrunched up. Felix opened his sleepy eyes and was met with the pair of deep, magenta eyes he’d come to love, glittering with tears when they met his shimmering amber eyes.

Changbin lurched forward, falling onto Felix and wrapping him in as much of his body he could manage. His breathing was erratic and shaky when he mumbled strings of incoherent words that oozed love and happiness. Felix managed a weak smile, bringing his arms to hold his friend and cuddled next to him.

“Binnie,” he said. He flinched at the sound of his own voice. It was no longer a hoarse whisper, cracking and barely passing his lips. It had become rich and clear, and had dropped a couple of octaves as well though it kept it’s unique accent. Changbin’s head snapped up at the sound and his eyes were wide with surprise.

“F-felix,” he replied, voice raspy and exhausted.

The sun had begun to steadily climb into the sky, bathing the cave floor in it’s light and their faces as well. Changbin’s hair was shaggy and unkempt, sticking up all over with dirt clinging to the dulled strands. His eyes, though bright, were struggling to stay open and dark shadows under them looked as if he hadn’t slept in weeks (he hadn’t). His lips were dry and his skin was dirt and tear streaked. But he was smiling at the light of his life, waiting expectantly for Felix’s response. 

“I-I… Thank you, for taking such good care of me. I’m sorry for scaring you,” he mumbled, nuzzling close to his tired friend. Changbin just smiled and nodded, settling down and flinging a leg over Felix’s hip, pressing his face into his neck. He smelled fresh, like morning dew and pine and Changbin knew that it had all been worth it. Every second of running and hiding and fighting was worth it to finally see Felix so healthy and radiant. 

Felix glanced down and saw that Changbin had fallen fast asleep and he smiled down fondly. He pressed a tender kiss to Changbin’s forehead, brushing a hand over his hair to smoothen it out and sighed happily.

“I love you,” he murmured, snuggling up and letting himself retreat into the darkness, but this time he was blessed with dreams of Changbin and his smile.

 

Felix woke once again, stirring slightly before realizing that Changbin was still cuddled up against him. He peaked down and saw the boy’s eyes sealed shut and a soft pout on his lips. He couldn’t help but grin kiss Changbin’s forehead again.

“ _You’re- you’re not dead?”_ A voice echoed from behind him. He stiffened and slowly peeled Changbin off of him, pushing himself to a sitting position and looked for the owner of the voice. He was breathing rapidly from the small activity and gulped nervously. Changbin always told him to never show weakness, no matter what. 

To be completely honest, he didn’t remember much from before he entered the changing, nor did he remember much from the changing itself. The intense pain had ebbed and was locked away in the back of his mind, while the memories of fleeing their colony had become muddled and unreliable. So he was absolutely terrified to find two full grown, healthy griffins staring down at him. 

“N-no..? I-I think I’m alive,” Felix replied, - if he was being honest with himself, he kinda wished he was dead in that moment - clearing his throat as he was still not used to the sudden change. He forced his limbs to work and got to his feet, a bit shaky but managing to take up a fighting stance. Though they didn’t look particularly hostile, they were unfamiliar and a potential threat.

“ _Chill, we won’t bite,”_ one of them said, cocking his head at Felix and taking a step back. The other followed suit, nodding as well. “ _We just wanted to make sure you’re okay, you’ve been out for like a month now.”_

“ _It was only like two weeks, Chan,”_ the other corrected but only received an eye roll in return. It might sound stupid, but Felix was scared of how casually they conversed. Casualty usually meant that they were one hundred percent confident in their abilities and could take him out with no problem. 

“ _Yeah, but it felt like a month, I mean that Changbin guy stressed us all out,”_ he said to them both, more to his friend than Felix though. “ _He wouldn’t freaking eat! I mean, he’d just kinda sit there and glare at us…”_ he trailed off, shooting an uneasy glance at Changbin.

“ _Anyway,”_ the other cut in, shaking her head, “ _we just wanted to check on you. Renjunie and Chan went shopping so there’s some human food for you but also a hunting patrol returning soon. It was nice meeting you!”_ With that, she laid a wing over Chan and turned, pausing for a minute to look at Felix over her shoulder again.

“ _I’m sorry, I’m Seongyeon if you need to find me!”_ She called back and resumed her walk across the cave, joining a group in the corner.

Felix blinked rapidly, confused as to why he hadn’t been brutally mauled.

“I think they’re okay, we don’t have to worry too much,” Changbin told him from the ground, studying him. “But… we’re still outsiders, in their home,” he explained, pushing himself into a sitting position. Felix nodded and sat down, resting his cheek on Changbin’s bare shoulder and wrapping an arm over his warm chest.

 

“Felix, where the hell do you think you’re going?” Changbin asked him, still half asleep as he’d been woken by the sudden lack of warmth pressed up against him. Felix had gotten up and was panting on his hands and knees at the entrance of the cave. 

“N-nowhere,” he tried. Changing sighed and pushed himself up, making his way over to his friend. He helped Felix sit properly and looped his arms around him.

“Felix, you just woke up yesterday. If you need time adjusting to everything, just let me know. I’d be happy to take a stroll with you in the morning,” Changbin offered, tracing his finger over the splatters of freckles over Felix’s shoulder. He adored Felix’s freckles; he thought they added a sort of boy-ish touch to him. There used to be scattered freckles only on his face, but as he spent more and more time outside and playing in the sun, they kinda just began popping up and Changbin was more than okay with it.

“I-I, umm, was gonna go hunting?” Felix said, not meeting Changbin’s gaze. The older frowned and narrowed his eyes.

“Why- the fuck? You’re still recovering, my God, Felix, you’re okay to stay here and recover! They-they’re doing well enough!” Changbin said, tugging on his arm to try and bring them back to bed.

Felix shook his head sadly. “I just… feel like a burden… again.”

“Felix,” Changbin said, more serious and firmer, “you are not a burden. You are worthy of life, hell, you deserve a life better than this one and... I’m so sorry you’re stuck living as an outcast with me.” Changbin let go of Felix and looked away. “If anything, I should be the one feeling like a burden.”

“Changbinnie-”

“No, no, I know what you’re gonna say, and I don’t need to hear it right now. I’m not gonna run away again, because now I know that I have someone to stay for,” he murmured, still studying the ground. “But… but please remember that you matter in ways that food and water can’t compare to.”

Felix’s face broke into a wide smile and he scrambled over to Changbin and threw himself over the older boy.

The two ended up going out, since Felix refused to relent and insisted that if he wasn’t hunting for the others then he could at least hunt for himself. They’d probably spent a solid four hours scrounging the forest and had only managed to spot a couple of squirrels and rabbits. They returned, Changbin padding fondly beside Felix who was giddy with excitement. A limp rabbit hanging in his beak. It wasn’t much, but Changbin wasn’t about to snuff out Felix’s pride, something the poor boy rarely ever experienced.

Changbin stalked towards his bed, expecting Felix to follow and was puzzled to see him slowly edging towards a large, female griffin. Changbin remembered her from their first day they’d been there. He had been able to pick up a few of their names but none of them really meant anything to him; he was only interested in Felix.

She raised her head from grooming her wings and looked at him, tipping her head to the side. Changbin stood, preparing to leap to Felix’s rescue if they dared disturb a feather on his head.

The smaller of the two bowed his head and stopped a far distance away, just as the members of the colony had done for Changbin when he’d been on edge and a bit jumpy. He stepped back, leaving the freshly killed rabbit on the floor of the cave and sat expectantly, waiting for her to accept his offering.

She eyed it and then looked up at him. His clear eyes held nothing but sincerity and respect. She pushed herself up and accepted the food, nodding at him and then turning to rejoin her group.

Felix bounded over happily to Changbin, rearing up in excitement and flapping his wings happily. He morphed, falling to his knees and crawled over to Changbin, snuggling against his feathered neck.

“Binnie,” he said softly, still smiling broadly, “she took it. She doesn’t hate me.” Changbin cooed down at him, laying his wing over Felix.

 

 

**********************

 

 

His mother was the home for the first time since the spring and she looked expectant to see Seungmin. When he’d asked her what she was so excited about, her face had dropped, confused and then disappointment when she realized: Seungmin had never gotten his gift of magic.

His heart stopped and he was frozen in time.

No, surely he would’ve gotten it way back in September.

But he didn’t remember anything special?

Jisung had been granted the ability to adapt to any environment. If he was in arctic waters, he’d never freeze (they assumed this much, as neither had been to the arctic), if he wanted to swim to the bottom of the ocean, the pressure wouldn’t ever crush him or if he were to enter a pitch black cave, he’d see everything as if it were in the light of day. But Seungmin was left magic-less and only then did he realize.

The stress of everything suddenly broke him and he sunk to the ground, sobbing.

 

 

There was probably twenty minutes until homeroom began, not like he had to attend since the teacher excused him to allow him to catch up on work. He sat in the far corner of the library, nose buried so far into his books and homework that he didn’t realize someone standing right in front of him.

“Jeongin.”

He jumped three feet out of his seat, clutching his school work to his chest, attempting to reinforce his ribcage which felt like it might crack any second from the pounding of his heart.

“S-su-seungmin!” He stammered, slowly lowering his book and reorganizing his papers. “I-I haven’t- uhhh, how’ve you been?”

“Shut up and let me talk. _Where. Have. You. Been?”_ Seungmin growled. He leaned forward across the table, bringing their faces a hair's width away.

 _Well gee, now what exactly did Seungmin want to know?_ Jeongin figured he could lie, though he was terrible at it, a friend once told him so, or he could tell him that he’s only half human and half griffin (and that would be assuming that Seungmin knows what one is). Oh, or he could tell about how there a some mermaids living just off the shore who are trying to drive out him and his family and he’s since been trying to locate his long lost friend to warn him.

Lying seemed to be the best option.

“I-I, umm, stayed home sick…” he muttered, choosing to focus his eyes on his incredibly interesting papers about Romeo and Juliet. Forbidden love was a concept he had yet to experience but, unbeknownst to him, would in the very near future.

“Bullshit,” Seungmin said, reaching up and steering Jeongin’s head by his chin with two, firm fingers to force the younger to look him in the eye. “Now tell me, why you would lie like that, hmm?”

_A B O R T_

Jeongin’s stomach dropped. Jesus, Seungmin wouldn’t go to his house to check on him, would he?

“Don’t you fucking tell me you were sick at home, I checked.”

He fucking would. 

“I had a family issue…” Jeongin tried.

“You told me you live alone.”

“Would you get your nose out of my business?!” Jeongin exclaimed, slamming his hands down onto the table and shooting up from his chair. Seungmin flinched but didn’t move out of his face.

“As your friend, your business is also my business, especially if you just randomly start ignoring everyone around you and then disappear for a whole fucking week without a trace!” Seungmin shouted back. The library was void of any other students and teachers, so there was no one there to save Jeongin from responding.

“I can’t tell you,” Jeongin said, shaking his head sadly. “I don’t know if you’ll get hurt…” he whispered.

“Jeongin, a true friend wouldn’t turn tail at the first sign of danger when someone they care about is in danger,” Seungmin’s voice softened. Jeongin stared at his fingers. Seungmin didn’t understand. He couldn’t. But maybe Jeongin could try to live two different lives, for Seungmin. He’d quite honestly missed the guy…

“If,” he sighed heavily, “you really can’t tell me, I’ll be here to support you. But you’re not the only one with problems, remember that. Don’t feel discouraged.”

Jeongin didn’t deserve someone as forgiving as Seungmin.

“I, honestly, really don’t want to be having this… fight, this argument, if you could even call it that, with you right now…”

He sounded tired. Jeongin would be a fool to say no after looking into his pleading, earnest eyes. What a one-eighty Seungmin could pull, he needed to look out for that later.

“O-okay…” he replied, sitting back down and rearranging his messed up papers. 

Seungmin made a noise of confusion, comparable to a spoken keyboard smash. “Jeongin, okay to what?” 

“Okay as in… I’ll try to keep you in my life while dealing with… this, all.”

Seungmin’s face lit up so brightly Jeongin didn’t have to look at him to know. “So you're not mad at me?”

Jeongin stuffed away his papers and books, frowning at Seungmin’s question. “Why would I be mad at you?” Seungmin could only shrug, unable to recall as to why he’d even felt that way before. He was too happy to have his best friend back in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im terribly sorry but the next update won't be out for a while :( i've lost some of the inspiration for this and i haven't been able to consume skz content a lot lately w school and work, i hope you won't wait on this because it will be a while until i can refocus my vision on this work ;;

**Author's Note:**

> at any time, feel free to ask a question if something doesn't make sense and i'll try to clear it up


End file.
